


This ain't no place for no hero

by The_biotic



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Betrayal, Drama, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Mass Effect 3: Omega, Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-04
Packaged: 2018-04-29 17:48:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5137010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_biotic/pseuds/The_biotic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Valerie Santiago lived on a planet everyone on earth called paradise. Eden Prime was quiet, peaceful and sadly full of boring people. Until the day, the geth attacked. Everyone she ever knew was killed and turned into monsters while she watched. Without family or friends she wanted to make a difference in a galaxy full of death. On Omega she had plenty of work to do, while recovering from her loss. But Omega ain't no place for no hero. Takes place during Mass Effect 1,2,3 Rated M for smut. (later)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading! Please note that english is not my first language!  
> Have Fun <3 
> 
> -thebiotic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This first chapter is more a "teaser" than a chapter. The story starts in Chapter 2 and will have some cameos of our beloved hero Commander Shepard on Omega later on.   
> Please note that english is not my first language, i hope you enjoy it anyway.

„Khalisah al-Jilani, Westerlund News. Thank you for your time, Miss T’Loak.“ Said the reporter in a silvery voice while activating her camera.

„Just Aria.“ Remarked the intimidating Asari next to her.

Al-Jilani nodded fast and started noting something on her Datapad. „Okay, Aria. Since most of the criminals in the galaxy start their way here on Omega, especially in the mercenary organizations called „Blue Suns“, we are all extremely interested in the new way you see for this establishment. I guess there will be some changes since you are their new leader.”

Aria laughed and folded her hands in her lap while glancing in the camera. “Actually, the blue suns were mine since I am Omega. They did what I wanted them to do. To be honest, for me it is not a big change in leadership as I will give the orders, just like before they all went crazy.”

A perfect peg, as planned. Aria knew how to deal with annoying reporters.

“They went crazy? Could you explain that, please?” She moved closer on the couch. The VIP area in the Afterlife, Omegas biggest nightclub and Arias office, was way too loud to clearly understand the mysterious woman.

Again, this cold laugh.

“Well, usually power and force keeps them restrained. Until someone thinks he is stronger and smarter than me. They gain followers, they start to revolt and then they die. It happens all the time, but usually not in the upper echelons.”

“So this time was different from other … revolts?”

“Ecplise, Blue suns, Blood pack… they all had their wars and tried to make a change. But they mostly failed. I didn’t care for who leads the groups as long as they followed the first rule.”

“Which is…?”

“Don’t fuck with Aria.”

The reporter stared at the asari in disbelief while she noted something. Aria guessed it was the word “fuck” she erased.

“So, you want to say that you killed over 70 mercenaries that night because you wanted to save the hierarchy? You alone?”

Now the look an Arias face became serious. In cold and harsh words she started to explain:

“That night was tragic, but necessary.” Now she smirked again. “And lets say I had some help from … a very human friend.”

Her eyes wandered to the darkest corner in the club to a silhouette Al-Jilani couldn’t see.

“What friend?” , she asked while trying to catch the hiding person with squinted eyes.

“She wanted to be a hero, you know. When she arrived at Omega she wanted to be the one that ends the corruption, the killing… Eden Prime was destroyed, her home and family vanished while she was still in this world. Alone and full of dreams she stranded on Omega. But this ain’t no place for no hero, you know.”

“What happened to her?” 

“She… changed.” 

“What caused it?”

“This place is what’s causing it. Omega changes people.”

The reporter sighed and deactivated the camera with one touch.

„To be honest… this is not what I hoped for, Aria. I know you want to save her, but if Valerie Santiago is a part of this, we need to know. You are hiding a wanted criminal.”

Slowly Aria stood up and signed her men to guard Al-Jilani to the door.

“This is Omega, human. Not your tiny, polluted earth with all its laws and prisons. And now leave. And do yourself a favour and never come back.”

After she left, Aria sat down again und closed her eyes while tilting her head. “They are looking for you, Val.”

A silent whisper from the shadows. “I know.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Well, you said it. This aint no place for no hero.”

“True.”

“Good thing I became the villain by now.”


	2. Welcome to Omega

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vals first encounter with Omegas people.

3 years before…  
2183 CE Omega Shuttle Bay  
Smoke, dirty people and a sickening smell. These were the first impressions Valerie Santiago received while stepping out of the small cruiser she took to travel to Omega. This place was pretty ill-reputed on her old planet and if her parents knew what she was doing here they would rotate in their grave. Well if they had one, and would not have been executed while turning into monsters that tried to kill them all.  
She shook her head to shake the memories off and walked some steps to massage her muscles after the long flight. She walked along a filthy corridor with dirty windows and tacky slag in the corners while she tried to look as confident as she could.  


My name is Valerie Santiago. My mother raised a strong woman and I can do this.  


She suddenly stopped and watched down to her clothes. Hell, she looked like the country rube she was while wearing a tight, high-necked overall as grey as her shoes and gloves. To complete the Outfit she also had a grey backpack. While she raked her fingers through her blonde, shoulder-length hair, she realized that with her height of 1,62 metres and her pale skin she didn’t really looked strong or confident at all but rather like a small kid that has lost its parents.  
Which was exactly what happened to her, if she thought about it.  


Now you pity yourself. ,she thought and grinned. The massacre was four months ago and she tried to stand on her own feet again. She lived on the citadel those months in a facility for survivors of the war and while everyone who was physically healed went back to their family or friends, she stayed. She was emotionally wounded, not fleshly. And she had no idea where to go. Eden Prime was as dead as her mother. She hated earth as a kid and really didn’t want to go back. So she stayed in the facility and watched everyone remedy. She laughed again while thinking of the people working there, being angry at her for occupying a bed they really needed for the injured.  
Stop thinking about it. Least said, soonest mended.  


A broken voice from the ground woke her up from her daydreaming. “Hello young lady, do you have some credits for a homeless veteran?”  
This poor guy has to sleep here? In the dirt and cold corridor?  


Immediately she grabbed her purse from her backpack and looked for some credits she could offer… and as soon as she wanted to give them to the man, someone grabbed her backpack and purse, while the homeless catched at her arms and brutally kicked her stomach. 

The last thing she saw was two men running away with her stuff, then she passed out. 

 

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes were sharp teeth right in front of her face. She gasped for air and tried to crawl backwards just to realize the the hard wall behind her back.  
“Calm down, human. I won’t harm you.”, said the large turian that kneeled in front of her with the typical metallic voice of their kind.  
“They stole my backback.” She mumbled while rubbing her eyes.  
The turian laughed and helped her stand up, while she still shivered.  
“Well, welcome to Omega.” He replied while Val tried to get rid of the dirt on her clothes.  
“Who are you?” he asked while leading the way out of the shuttle bay.  
Her answer was soft and careful. “My name is Valerie Santiago, I just arrived.”  
The turian chuckled again as if her first experience with people on Omega was obvious.  
“My name is Lantar Sidonis. Come, I will tell you how the cat jumps on Omega.”


	3. Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valerie and Sidonis... the beginning of a friendship.

„Shouldn’t we go to the security or something like that? To report my stuff missing, or criminal assault?” She asked while shifting around in her chair. Sidonis brought her to the Afterlife, the biggest nightclub and office of the local leader, as she learned from him.   
“Security? On Omega? First Rule of the day is, no security on Omega. Take care of yourself.” He answered while ordering two drinks. She knew turians ate different food than humans do, and she hoped he would know this.   
He did, so she had a very tasty drink she knew from bars on Eden Prime and happily took some sips. “So I guess I don’t get my stuff back, huh?”  
“I wouldn’t bet on it. But maybe some Batarian is now wearing a tiny dress from you while dancing in front of a mirror.” He replied while trying not to giggle.  
Not even Val could keep a straight face and smiled. “Well too bad I have no dress. Poor Batarian beauty-queen.”

 

They sat there for nearly three hours and Val started to enjoy his company. He was funny, well mannered and seemed to really care for what she had to say, not like the C-Sec officers she met on the Citadel. They all treated her like a child without listening to what it had to say. Which she was, as a 19 year old crying orphan.   
He sipped from his drink and nodded slowly. “Omega is not the right place for victims of the war, you know.”   
Val crossed her arms and raised one brow, a gesture Sidonis always found fascinating on humans. Even if it wasn’t his strength to read these soft, skincovered faces, he felt her anger about his comment.  
“I am not a victim. I am a survivor.” She pointed out with a proud expression on her face. But even he could see, that she wasn’t as strong as she tried to act.   
“Of course. I am sorry.” He said trying to calm the young girl. “But nevertheless, you don’t belong on this station. Living here is hard, Valerie. And by hard, I mean you are going to get yourself killed if you stay here.”  
“Well, at least I have a plan.”   
“Yes, a stupid one.”   
“Said the turian that picked up a ruffled, robbed and potentially dangerous girl from the street.”  
Sidonis laughed and tapped on the table with his fist. “Potentially dangerous? As far as I remember you were pretty unconscious and harmless.”  
“Okay, maybe not that dangerous.” She admitted while giggling.  
Another sip from his drink while he looked up and down her body.  
“You seem to be a decent female of your kind, aren’t you afraid that some men are going to take advantage of your lack of self-defense capabilities? Especially if you pass out in the middle of the street.”   
Valerie grabbed her glass tight and closed her eyes for a second before responding: “They kicked me, okay? I didnt say – hey I am tired lets take a nap in the dirt - and no. I don’t think so. I can defend myself. I am a biotic and pretty good with tech as well.” To underline her argument she opened her Omni-Tool and tapped on it rapidly.   
“What was the tactic? To play dead?” he dissolved into giggles.  
“You are a knight in shining armor, you know? First you save me from freezing to death and then you are making fun of me. Fuck you, turian.” She bursted into laughter while trying to be serious and pointed at his face with her Omni-Tool. “I also attended a self-defense course one time. So I can punch you, be careful.”   
“But you never shot a gun.” He assumed.  
Now she went red and closed her orange, bright shining Tool. “Well, no.”   
The turian leaned back and watched her with half closed eyes. “Okay, here is the deal. I will get you a Job. Nothing filthy, don’t look at me that way. And if you give me 30 percent of your wage, you can stay at my house and I will teach you some shooting.”  
“Are you drunk?” she asked while staring at him in disbelief.   
“Maybe a little, so agree before I change my mind” he said and downed the glass.   
When she realized that he was dead serious about this, she stared at the ground.  
“Why would you do this? You don’t know me.”  
For a moment he looked confused, as if he himself didn’t know why he made her this offer, but then he smiled again and said: “I was like you when I first came here, you know. And if I can help you find your place in this fucked up world, I will try. Besides, …” He leaned closer over the table. “I bet I can sell videos of you showering.”   
The wiggling plates in his face made her laugh even harder than before and he joined in, when her head turned all red and the other guests started staring at them.   
This is the beginning of a friendship, Sidonis thought and smiled while this cute girl couldn’t stop laughing.


	4. I think we hit a wall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3 weeks living together can wake some feelings.

3 Weeks later…  
„I just can’t believe it happened again. They nearly killed him right in the club and didn’t even stop when I called for the batarians that work for Aria. They just kept on kicking this guy who couldn’t pay his depts. I swear to God; those gangs need to be stopped.” Valerie opened the door to the apartment of her new roommate. The turian sat on one of the cozy chairs next to the window and read on his Datapad.  
“Bad day at work?” he asked while putting the device on a little table next to his chair. The living room was small but homely. There was Sidonis favorite spot to read, the window chair, as Val called it, a build in dark and shiny kitchen which wasn’t used often, a huge couch that was Valerie’s bunk at the moment and a big TV screen. Then there was the bath and next to it Sidonis bedroom. Even if it was not that decorative, rather functional, Valerie loved this tiny cave. Especially when Sidonis was there.  
“You don’t know jack! At first I lost some of my tips because some dickhead threw my glass down, then I was called a frigid bitch because I didn’t want to undress and then all hell is breaking loose and the afterlife is filled with mercenaries looking for one of the guests. I swear, life is fucking dangerous as a bartender.”  
He nodded and grinned.  
She kicked off her shoes and walked to the fridge. While getting herself a beer, she got a silver shiny liquid for her turian friend. She jumped on the couch and handed him the bottle.  
He mumbled a thanks and took a big slug while watching his roommate find a cozy spot. She started undressing her pants and he tried to concentrate on the ceiling, the lamp, everything that wasn’t her smooth legs. Wherefrom he knew that they were smooth? He looked it up on the extranet like a pervert. He wasn’t attracted by humans, but he was curious. Maybe she wouldn’t mind him touching her just to know how it feels?  
Fortunately, she covert her legs before he could think about it anymore. She used a blanket he got her on her second day here, because he found out, that humans are given to feel cold easier than turians. Val cuddled herself into the sheets and let her head sink on the back of the couch.  
Great now he saw her strong neck. And when she swallowed the sip of beer she had in her mouth, he stopped breathing.  
“You said you want to mix the drinks in the Afterlife. I said you should have gone to the cleaning crew.” He said soundlessly and stared at her throat.  
He didn’t really know when this weird shit had started. Usually, he gets up. goes to work, comes back, gets drunk until he passed out and then all over again. Since she lived with him, he was mindless at work and nervous about coming home and giving her a lesson in fighting and shooting. He even looked up human anatomy so he would know, which stuff she could do with her body. Which was the first time he saw a naked human and realized that this was how Valerie would be like without all the fabric covering her.  
Since that day he regularly checked for videos on the extranet about human females. Mostly the X-rated ones.  
“No, thank you.” She created a distance with holding both her hands in front of her body, “I need this bar between me and other people or I go crazy. Drunk people are the worst.”  
He swallowed the picture of naked females he saw and his past of being a full-time drunk.  
“But beer is alright?” he asked to make her laugh, a facial expression he had a thing for as he found out.  
As he knew, she laughed and slapped him gently on his Talon.  
“Beer is love, Beer is life. I mean, I am human after all.”  
He memorized her face in that carefree moment before he started talking:  
“Tonight, we can practice on the roof. The sky is clear.”  
She sat up nervously and put her beer on the table while shifting closer to him.  
“Really? That’s so awesome. What am I going to kill?”  
He laughed. “Bottles, dummy.”  
“Badass.” She answered, not lowering her smile. 

 

20 Minutes later Valerie stood on the highest roof she ever saw and tried not to look down. In her hands she had a pistol, Sidonis gave her. The same pistol he always gave her to train. It was a very light handgun that didn’t make much damage, but could still be deadly if used right.  
He arranged some empty bottles in a box some steps away while she tried to focus her view through the scope in this sea of lights. Omega seemed so pretty… from far away.  
Sidonis now leaned on a wall next to her and asked: “ready?”  
She nodded… and the bottle flew.  
She lifted her arms, looked through the scope and shot… and missed her target.  
“I am sorry...” Val said and lowered the gun. “maybe I am just not made for combat.”  
Sidonis took another Bottle and played with it in his talon. “Don’t worry. You can do it, believe me.”  
He threw the bottle.  
Valerie missed it.  
This was the game until no targets were left.  
Valerie lowered her gun frustrated. “This is so stupid. Who needs guns, anyway.”  
Sidonis put the pistol back in her hands again and replied: “Let’s try it in a different way, this time.” He walked behind her and grabbed her hip, dragged it against his body. His arms covering hers while his head rested on her shoulder and held her hands tight in his and lifted the gun with her.  
He whispered in her ear. “Do you see this flag on the other building? Let’s poke a hole in it.” Gently, his talon slid along her arm to stabilize her. It was the most intimate contact they ever shared and the moment was perfect. Up on a roof, in the middle of a clear night.  
Her bloomy scent made his head feel dizzy and he felt his blood rushing through his body.  
While she started aiming for the target, he held her tight and helped her focus.  
She aimed, pulled the trigger and shot a small hole in the middle of a waving black flag.  
Sidonis couldn’t let her go, not yet. She was breathing heavily against his chest and he could feel how hot her flesh was.  
“I am ready.” she whispered and every inch of his body started to strain. Yes, she was ready. He was going to finally satisfy his curiosity by touching every soft piece of this human body. He lowered his head so he could lick this attractive spot where her head met her neck.  
Right before his tongue touched her skin, she moved away, turned around and said:  
“I am ready to settle a vigilante group.”


	5. This is not a lovestory

„What?“ Sidonis let her arms go and stared in these brown determined eyes of her. Every spark of passion was wiped away by that weird idea. “Vigilante group like in… militia?”   
She turned around and faced the skyline of Omega while she softly replied: “More like a neighborhood watch group. Some people that keep an eye on the streets at night… “ She span her head in his direction spoke louder: “You could show them, what you teached me. We could form a shift-system where everyone has to patrol from time to time. We could help so many people. Like me, on my first day. If there was something like a security instance I could have done something instead of letting you pay my new clothes.”   
“Wait a sec, Valerie.” He said and grabbed her shoulders. “I showed you how to fight to defend yourself, not to start some strange street justice. And I liked paying this stuff for you, you know? Usually I buy booze. I think this was a good alternative.”   
With a deep sigh she made a step forward and leaned her head against his chest. At first she seemed unpleasant with being so close to him, but then she put her arms around his small waist and squeezed him. He immediately closed his long arms around her tiny body.   
“We have to do something, Lantar. I can’t just stand here on top of Gozu District and think about all the people dying because there is no one to help them here.”   
She just couldn’t stand the idea of people in danger without help. Maybe it was because of her experiences on Eden Prime, where nearly everyone was dead until finally some alliance military came to rescue the survivors.   
Sidonis felt her shiver in his arms and knew what she was going to say, but it still hurt when she did it: “I don’t force you to do it. If you don’t want to support me, you don’t have to. But I will not sit down and watch this Station burn. And that means…”  
“… you will leave me.” He whispered.  
Valerie tilted her head and looked up to him. “You are my only friend in this world, you grumpy turian, but yes, if I have to, I will leave you.”   
He embraced her hard and mumbled against her ears, while he uplifted her from the rooftop.   
“And you are my only friend, Val. Don’t you dare to desert me. I will support you in every way I can, but stay at my cave with me. It was so empty without your cackles.”  
And while he still hugged her and gently stroke over her head, she thought about how much luck she had by having a friend like him… and all he wanted was to be more than just her friend.  
-  
-  
-  
The next days passed faster than Sidonis thought and Valerie started gathering people that wanted to join their “security squat” while she beat the big drum for her idea. She even found a small warehouse that offered a place for meetings and some former C-Sec officers with combat experience who wanted to train the others. The turian stayed on the sideline as Valerie became well known in the lower levels of Omega as “La Valiente”, the Brave. The girl that wanted to change this damned station and support their citizens.   
He let things slide until one day she excitedly came up to him and asked upfront: “I have something for you, Lantar.” She said while handing him a Datapad with miscellaneous credit discounts on her account. “You spend so much money on me. Clothing, food… even a blanket. And now I finally made enough money to pay you back. And if everything goes as planned, I will be able to buy a small apartment next month. Thank you, Lantar. Without you, all that wouldn’t be possible.”   
She was more than proud. All her work in the afterlife and with the citizens of this station made it possible to return the favor he made.  
He stared at her in disbelief. “You want… to move out?”   
“I can’t live here and run the security squad. I need a place to invite the others from time to time. Somewhere safe, where the gangs can’t find us.” She explained and put the Datapad aside.   
He clenched his fists. “You think I can’t protect you?”  
“Wait, what?” she said and placed her hands on his chest. This conversation does not go where she planned it to. Doesn’t he realize what that means for him? He could live his life again without her sticking to him like wax. A few weeks ago he started talking about how alone he was and that he missed the feeling of having a significant other. That was the moment Val realized she was in his way and if she wanted him to be happy with a turian woman, she had to leave.  
“Why should you protect me?” she asked while sitting down on the couch.   
“Because if you don’t stop your little idea of this security bullshit, you’ll be a pawn in the hands of the powerful on Omega. And ´not with all the will in the world am I going to accept this. I will protect you, if you want it or not.”   
Now she stood up again and crossed her arms while walking towards him.   
“You have your own life, Lantar. I know there is someone you like, you always glance in the distance while thinking of her. So I guess there is a turian woman you like and you can’t bring her home because there is me and I won’t accept that any longer.” She placed her hand on his fringe and smiled. “I want you to be happy. That’s why I look for apartments.”   
“You promised not to leave me.”   
“I won’t.”  
“You just did.” He said, wiped her hand of his face and left.  
-  
-  
-  
Valerie was nearly asleep when her Omni-Tool started blinking as it showed an unread message. She looked for her clock and saw that Lantar was gone for nearly four hours now. But before she could worry about him, she saw his message on her Omni-Tool.   
Sorry, I can be a dick sometimes. I managed to get a meeting for you with Aria T’Loak in 3 hours at the afterlife. You can explain your idea and maybe she won’t try to kill you, if she knows what you’re up to. Please, forgive me. I’ll see you in the VIP area.   
Lantar  
While closing her Omni-Tool she smiled and crawled out of her blankets. He always tried to fix her problems since she arrived at the station. He is the most caring person she ever met and she would desperately miss him.   
She stood up and gathered her documents and collected her clothes from the ground. A meeting with Aria T’Loak, uncrowned queen of Omega, would be a big deal for her mission. This Asari could help her make this station a secure place for families, children and all people that need a home. Finally, things started to get better.  
-  
-  
-  
Valerie entered the afterlife with a Datapad and steely determination. She would make history tonight, she knew it.   
Since she started working at this Nightclub she always dreamed of climbing up those stairs to the VIP lounge and met Aria for the first time. Val always saw her sitting in this dark corner acting like an emperor, frightening, intimidating and unapproachable.   
Everyone was greeting her as usual, when she came to work and she wasn’t surprised when one of the dancers blew her a kiss as she walked by. She liked this place most of the time.   
When she approached the stairs that led to Arias booth, the nasty looking batarian immediately let her pass and waved at Aria. Sidonis was sitting on a couch next to the Asari and seemed nervous when Valerie came up to them.   
“Thank you for welcoming me Miss T’Loak. I – “   
“Stop, Sweetie.” Aria interrupted her boredly. “I know why you’re here and no I am not welcoming you. But since a mutual friend of ours…” she pointed at Sidonis who was strangely quiet. “is pretty concerned about your business, I thought it would be time to clarify my position.”  
Valerie became deathly pale and almost dropped her Datapad as Aria continued.  
“Omega is more than just a station for the lost souls. It is also the unofficial Citadel of the terminus-system. And do you know what the terminus-system is? A fucked up dump for garbage like you. Stupid wannabe heroes who try to shake things up and change us primitive criminals.”   
Sidonis tried to stand up but Aria quickly put him back on his seat.   
“Let me tell you this and I will say it only once, so listen closely little hick girl…” The Asari walked towards the girl and didn’t stop until when she was only some inches apart from her, then looked down into her eyes. “You want to be a hero? Leave my station and get yourself killed somewhere else.”   
Valerie shivered and a tear dropped down on her Datapad while Aria moved back to her couch, sat down and looked at Sidonis who looked like he wanted to jump and comfort her immediately, but couldn’t until Aria would let him.   
“Sidonis, if you want a girl to stay with you, you shouldn’t cheat on her and sabotage her dreams by snitching on her. I don’t care if you like her, if she keeps on living this stupid dream, you can die next to her and even if I like you, I won’t lift a finger.”   
She dropped a bombshell with this statement and Sidonis froze instantly. Shit, now she knew.   
Valerie gazed at her roommate while mumbling: “What? Sidonis…”   
He jumped in front of her and stuttered an apology.   
With an icy laugh Aria crossed her legs. “Seems like I prattled away again. Now go, make out somewhere else.”   
As if by command, Val grabbed her Datapad and tried to run away, but the mean batarian blocked her way.   
“Oh and by the way, you are fired… at his wish” Aria pointed at the befuddled turian.  
That was the moment, Valerie burst into tears and jostled the bodyguard away and ran. She didn’t feel one of the drunk dancers while the loud beats pounded in her ears and the tears fell down on her clothes. She heard Sidonis call for her while trying to catch her and cut his way through the club.   
But she was smaller, faster and reached the exit and collapsed right in front of the club.   
She could feel Sidonis talons around her shoulders as he tried to lift her up, but she fought back.   
“How could you?! I trusted you, Lantar. You said you’d support me. And you tell my boss to fire me! What is wrong with your fucked up turian brain, you Idiot?” She cried while punching his hard chest.   
Sidonis grabbed her hands and hold them tight.  
“Because I love you, stupid human.”   
That silenced her promptly.   
“What?”  
“Okay, listen. All I did was protecting you while you did your best to get killed. Omega is too harsh for you alone. But let’s just be … us. No stupid security bullshit or heroic behavior. I simply want to be with you and I would do anything to keep you at my side, where I can watch over you. And if that means I have to get you fired, so you can’t afford your own flat, then I won’t fucking apologize for doing what I had to.”   
She went quiet and stopped crying while he loosed his grip on her. Everybody on the street was watching them, but he didn’t care. He just wanted her to look at him and act like the women in those trashy movies. He wanted her to jump in his arms and say that she felt the same. Then he would bring her home and love her all night long. Everything was prepared for that moment since he first looked up human females on the extranet. So he sat there waiting for her love confession, while she slowly looked up in his face and said: “I will pack my Stuff.”


	6. We hit a wall

We hit a wall  
That we put on  
If you didn't know  
Had control  
It would mean some  
But we put on  
If we didn't know  
It was so cold  
It would never work

We hit a wall – Chelsea wolfe

“I will pack my stuff”  
Five single-syllable words. One by one they were nothing special. Put together? They called up all kinds of bad shit. In the thick moments after they were spoken to him, Sidonis kept quiet, letting them hang in the stuffy air of Omega. They both went home, not saying a word while she gathered her clothes, her Datapads and Tools. She folded her blanket and as she tried to put it in her bag, he stepped in, grabbing the fabric like a treasure. “Please, don’t.” he said with a broken voice.  
If she tried to erase herself completely he would freak out. He needed this present he once made her for himself. To remind himself of her existence.  
She nodded and let go of it as soon as she saw his shaking. She understood. If he wanted to keep something from here, he could have it… but she won’t stay. For two months he lied, betrayed her with worst method he could have thought of. She felt so much rage, hate and helplessness in this situation that she couldn’t even look in his face while he looked for words to say.  
“Is there something, you want to admit?”, Valerie asked without hesitation. If there was another secret, she wanted to know. She trusted him and now she got her comeuppance.  
He hesitated and gasped for air.  
“Be honest, Lantar. At least now.” She demanded.  
He sighed and replied, slow and quiet: “Remember, when you told me that you grew up with your mother and your step dad, and that you have no idea were your biological father is?”  
She stopped, glancing in his repenting face and waited for more.  
He typed something on his Omni-Tool and shortly afterwards, she received a message on hers.  
“Whats that?” she asked, while opening it.  
“I used my old C-Sec contacts to look for your father. I had your DNA, it wasn’t that hard… Well, they found someone that matches… ” , he explained.  
Val skimmed the message and saw two things that let her clench her fists.  
“He is here on Omega. And you knew it since last month.” She accused without any feeling in her voice. 

She nearly broke down. This was the last thing she wanted to hear from him. Since her third birthday, her mother always told her that her dad was a war hero and served in the Alliance Navy and died young age. So not only her best friend lied to her, but her mother did too. Every inch of her body wanted to punch something in the face, mostly this turian bastard or that bitch Aria.  
Life fucking sucked. Her mission failed before it began, her best friend betrayed her and her long lost dad maybe lived next door. And he knew it.  
Val looked up to his face and pointed her finger at him while she slunged her bag over her shoulder.  
“Fuck you, Lantar.”  
He, of course, could say nothing to the contrary after he acted like the biggest dick in this galaxy. 

Before he could reply, she was out the door. It was only then that she started letting the tears shed.  
She walked carefully down the curving staircase of her former safe house. Truth be told, she was in desperate need for fresh air right now, except she didn’t dare to move any faster. Between the high building and the dirt street she exactly saw what she felt like. Fucked up. 

When she arrived at the market she sat down on some boxes that she couldn’t assign to a shop and opened the message from C-Sec again.  
“Dear Sidonis,  
We found someone that matched the sample and found someone. His name is Vincent Santiago, and is reported missing. But we found something on Omega… I am not allowed to tell you more, but investigate the Blue Suns if you are really trying to find him. Mind, I didn’t tell you that!  
\- Bailey “

Holy shit, she could really meet her dad. If it was her Dad. If he was alive.  
The Blue Suns were one of the bigger mercenary gangs on this station and some of the meanest bastards existing. This Bayley said he was missing, so maybe they abducted her father and held him hostage.  
Maybe she couldn’t save the whole station with a neighborhood watch, but she at least she could save her dad.  
She opened another tab on her Omni-Tool and wrote a short message to Lantar.  
“Thank you for everything. “ 

Then she stood up, wiped away her tears and walked towards the Afterlife. Maybe, she was fired, but she could still talk to her former customers, or not? She remembered some members of the blue suns that regularly visited the club and always liked her. That could be her hot scent. 

Shen she arrived at her destination she thought of how Aria slagged her and shattered her dreams of making this a better place but she managed to swallow her anger and entered the big front door. Usually, she was scared by the big flames that flickered on the screens on the walls, but today she didn’t even care. This place seemed a lot smaller than usual as if it couldn’t harm her since she wasn’t working here anymore. 

She saw Aria lifting a brow when their eyes met and the Asari got up and talked to one of her batarian thugs. If the bitch wanted to chuck Val out on her ear, let her try.

Aria appeared in the moment she arrived at the cracker-barrel of the mercenaries. Val shook her blond hair while keeping her head up to meet her mean glance.  
The human girl addressed the group of men sitting in front of her while ignoring her former boss. “Hey guys, I am Valerie from the bar, you remember?”  
Juan, one of the nicer guests immediately made some space for her on the bench. “Of course, La valiente, how is your vigilante group going?” he asked and tapped on the soft fabric next to him. 

Now Aria had enough. “Blue Suns? Really, girl? I can’t cure resistance to advice.” Then she walked away. 

If Valerie was braver, she would have yelled something mean or threw a chair or something similar. Something dramatic. But instead to retreat she looked at Juan, a tall dark haired human man with some scars and sun kissed skin, and decided that she maybe shouldn’t just ask for one of their captives.  
“I quit. It seems that nobody needs this kind of stuff here.” It hurt more than she would ever admit, to say this, but in the end… it was true.  
“A mi, me parece logico.” He said and rubbed his bearded chin. “But that doesn’t explain why you’re not working today.”  
“The bitch fired me.”  
“Ouch.”, said one of the others I knew as Martin.  
Juan laughed and put his arm around her. “Well it’s a windfall that you need a job and as chance would have it, I have one for you to offer.”  
That was her chance. If she did this job she could maybe get inside and look for her father.  
“I’ll do it.” She replied promptly.  
The men started laughing and Juan stroked her arm gently. “Even if I support your zeal, you should maybe listen to the job specification before accepting.”  
“It can’t be worse than working for Aria. So whatever it is, I’ll do it.” 

-  
-  
-  
“For goodness sake, I won’t do this”  
They brought her to a small building on the lower levels of Omega and Juan had explained her what they needed her to do. They sat in a small room with sparse furnishing on small chairs in front of a desk.  
“This offer is special, chica. If you do well you become a member of the Blue suns. Usually it takes years to achieve this, but for you we make an exception.” He winked and showed her a Datapad with a picture of a guy. “And he doesn’t look that bad, actually. “  
“I can’t just sleep with a guy and kill him afterwards.” Valerie said and crossed her arms, not looking at the picture they showed her.  
“You don’t have to fuck him, Val.” Said Martin, who stood next to her chair. “You just have to seduce him. And when you are alone in his room, you can choose to do it yourself, or one of us will kill him.”  
“He has a thing for blondes, you know.” Added Juan. “And he won’t be able to resist you.”  
She shifted in her chair and fiddled with her hands. “But why do you need me? I am not really a femme fatale, you know.”  
She never dressed revealingly and wouldn’t consider herself as a sexy woman. So she wondered why they wanted her to do this or if finding her father was worth all the fuss.  
“He worked with us, a long time ago.” Answered Juan. “And the number of human females in our ranks is negligible and he knows them all. We need someone he has never seen before.”  
She thought about it for a minute. “What will you do, if I won’t do it?”  
“Kill him with a different method.”  
“So you will definitely murder him?”  
“Of course, chica. That’s our job.” Juan leaned back and lightened himself a cigarette.  
If this man is going to die anyway, what difference would it make if she participated? If she won’t pull the trigger, it wouldn’t be her fault, would it?  
But afterwards, she would be a member of their gang. She could easily reach her hands out and release her father. She would be up and away with him before they even noticed. 

She was on the brink to sign the contract as she thought of Lantar. What would he think of her, if he finds out? He hated the gangs and their crimes. But he read the message from C-Sec, so maybe he would understand why she did this.  
Why did she even care for what he thought? She kicked him out of her life. It didn’t matter what he wanted, anymore. And she didn’t have a place to go.  
So she cleared her throat and grabbed for the Datapad. “I do it.”


	7. Mirrors

Shocked, didn’t even begin to explain her mood when Juan told her, she had to do a little makeover if she wanted Michael Shore, her target, to even notice her.   
“At first, we need to get rid of all this… grey.” He said while fumbling on her top. Before she could defend her color of choice, he continued: “We know someone who can fix this. Don’t worry about payment. I’ll accompany you.” The attractive guy nodded at the other gang members and they promptly left them alone. She started sweating. Makeover? She needs a fucking makeover? She looked good. Well, not that… but good enough for some attention. Her hand wandered around in her hair trying to get to know what was wrong with it. He placed his hand on Val’s shoulder and tried to comfort her while saying: “Calm down, chica. I’m with you.” Then he stood up and dragged her with him.  
-  
-  
-  
The shop he meant was in the middle of the Gozu District, where Sidonis apartment was, which made her fucking nervous. More nervous than her pending task. She didn’t want him to see her with gangs. He could be angry or worse, he could try to save her. Which would lead to a lot of blood, death and a longer road to find her dad.   
Every feeling of discomfort was blown away by an even bigger indisposition as she saw the small building covered in pink fabric and neon signs of the same color. “Beauty & Spa (humans only)” could be read on one of it.  
Glitter on the small door made her lose it. “Oh, god. Barbie went into business for herself.” Juan laughed at her hint at the old toy for girls on earth.   
“It gets better, believe me.” He said while opening the doors for her. She really didn’t want to have that glittery stuff somewhere on her body.   
“Welcome, Juan. I see you finally found a girl. Bring her here, I’ll make her irresistible.”  
Val stared at the small batarian in disbelief. He wore an overall matching the color of his equipment, scissor and blow dryer, and his store. Pink. Everything was covered with this horror tone of red.   
“Close your mouth, darling or you will look like a country rube.” Said the batarian while dragging her into a chair coated with fur. Valerie nodded, for lack of something else to do while she examined the fabric, she was sitting on.   
Of course her new stylist promptly told her about it.  
“Its from earth, you know. I love your stuff. This look is called “retro”… It’s so awesome.”   
She nodded again. Where was she? Was this hell? Was she shot in the Afterlife before and this was her personal kind of hell?  
“Okay, princess, do your best. She needs to look smoking hot.” Juan placed a card on the counter next to him, trying not to touch anything glittery. “The card is for your Room, Val. Continental towers, 17th floor. I’ll see you there.”   
“Your name… is princess?” was the first thing she could say when Juan was gone and the drag queen started to fiddle her hair.   
“True. Also from earth. You used this term to describe a beautiful girl who always looks fantastic in gowns. It suits me don’t you think?” Princess said, while waving around with a scissor.  
Again, the nodding. While watching her reflection in the mirror, she thought about this absurd situation. There was a batarian called princess, who was obsessed with pink and glittery stuff and he opened a spa for humans on Omega. This was just too weird to be true.   
-  
-  
-  
Three hours later she exited the shop as a different person. You could say a lot about this strange guy, but he knew what he was doing. He cut and colored her hair, which now shined in platinum blond and blue wisps. Her fingernails were extended and colored in the same shade of dark blue while he forced her into a tiny black dress that didn’t cover anything at all, matching the heels he gave her.  
She looked like one of the dancers at the club. Not bad, but definitely bitchy.   
Val got the card Juan left behind and walked towards the hotel he mentioned. She dropped it because of her new weird fingernails and struggled with picking it up again. Sexyness was obviously more important than functionality.   
When she arrived at the continental towers and entered the big shiny glass doors of the high building, everyone had their eyes on her. Some men seemed interested while women looked disgusted and maybe a little jealous. Two human men and one volus tried to buy her a drink at the hotel bar, on her way to the elevator.   
Maybe she could like this style. The attention was absolutely worth it.   
She got the ultimate affirmation for her new look as she entered the room, where Juan, Martin and the others were waiting. With a wiggling butt, waving hair and the best bedroom eyes she had to offer, she walked towards them.   
“Dios mio. I think I am in love.”, said Juan while standing up to watch my new appearance closer.   
Everyone in the room started making compliments on her figure and the dress while Valerie went red and tried not to giggle like a schoolgirl. “Not bad, is it?” she said.   
“Not bad? Cutie, if he doesn’t want to fuck you now, he has to be gay.” Martin pointed out while raking through his red hair. “Hell I would, even if I knew you would kill me afterwards.” The others nodded rapidly and started laughing.   
Val’s smile disappeared as she remembered why she did all this. To kill a man.   
Juan noticed her feelings and added: “Michael Shore is a wanted criminal, chica. He is a lieutenant of eclipse. He probably killed more people than everyone in this room combined. Last summer…” he reached for a picture in his pants. “my sister was killed, because he demanded it. Simply because she was with me at the wrong place. This man is not a victim. He is monster and you are going to stop him.”   
Something was weird with this situation. The guys went quiet and didn’t look at her, while Juan told her this story. But if Michael really was that bad, he needed to be stopped.   
“Okay, I understand.” She said and touched his arm to soothe him. “Were am I going to meet him?”   
Juan grabbed her hand and kissed it before answering: “In this VIP bar on the third floor. He should be there in a few hours. Call attention to yourself… get him to talk to you. And when he invites you to his room, we will follow you.”   
“Okay. I can do this. But…” she hesitated. “Isn’t this going to be too obvious, if they saw him with me?”   
“Gangs don’t know you here, chica. They heard of “La Valiente” but they never saw your face. And when the time has come, they will know you as one of us. And they will know that you’re untouchable.”   
I do this for you, father. She thought to herself while walking towards the door.


	8. Femme fatale

While sipping on her drink Val sat on a tiny barstool in a pompous bar full of well dressed humans and aliens chatting and drinken, and thought about a certain turian she tried to forget. How could he even think about loving her or being aroused around her. What the hell did he find attractive? He was all hard metal where she was made of vulnerable flesh. Talons and hands, fringe and face… Hell they didn’t even ate the same stuff. They would probably kill each other while trying to please their needs. . His body didn’t do it for her at all. Sex with an alien-bird wasn’t on top of her list. She knew she liked him as a friend, but she never was a girl for xenophilia to be honest… But he was the most funniest guy she ever met. He was thoughtful, kind, protective and cute as fuck when he was tired- Oh my god, she had the hots for his character. Maybe it was not his body, but maybe this was some kind of love. She had to go.  
She would now fuck this job and run to his apartment and tell him that she was sorry and that she wanted him… in some weird kind of way. She lifted her body from the chair and grabbed her purse while running towards the door, but before she could jump to the elevator that would bring her down, it’s doors opened and showed two tall turian figures entwined.  
Valerie was glued to the spot while she saw the man she wanted to see, in a position she definitely didn’t expect.  
“Val… “ Said Sidonis while staring at her body. “You look… fantastic.” He devoured he with his eyes and ignored the turian female in his arms completely.  
But Val didn’t. With a broken voice she whispered: “Who… who is this?”  
Then he saw it… she was hurt. Which meant, she was jealous… she had feelings for him.  
“I… I am sorry, Val.” He said while pushing his date away from him.  
Tears were dropping on her new dress while she ran to the bathroom to escape this awful situation.  
But obviously she took the wrong door and jumped in the arms of a man, in a white modern suit, black hair and a roguish grin. He catched her and laughed while asking: “Hello, young lady. Are you lost?” In that moment, the door opened again and Sidonis tried to reach for Val. “Valerie, come on. I can explain everything.”  
The white suit guy pushed her behind his back to protected her from the raging turian. “I think you need to leave, sir. This lady obviously doesn’t need your explanations.”  
“Shut the fuck up, human. That’s not your business.” He bared his teeth and came closer.  
Hell, she was afraid of him. Now she saw his combat experience and the face his enemies got to see of him. She shivered when he started screaming: “Val, you left me. What did you expect me to do? Wait for you, till you think we could maybe give it a try?”  
White suit still tried to keep sufficient distance between them while she replied. “Five fucking hours, Lantar. I left you five hours ago. And you took the next hoe you found and brought her to the next hotel. You are dead to me, Lantar. How stupid of me to think this could work. You are a neurotic, cheating alcoholic and you will never be more.”  
He froze on the spot. Opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but closed it again. Everything was said. He turned around, kicked the door open and walked away, not giving a shit about the girl he brought here. Five hours ago, he thought this day couldn’t get worse. Well, he didn’t know shit. 

“Your boyfriend?” White suit asked.  
“Hell, no.” she answeres while wiping her tears away. He grabbed for a small piece of fabric in his pockets and dried her face gently.  
“Thank god, that means I can buy you a drink and help you get over him.”  
As she examined his face closer, she finally saw it. This was Michael Shore, her target… and he wanted to buy her a drink. And if she believed his grin, he wanted more than just drink something with her. It was the perfect opportunity.  
He ushered her to a small lounge at the bar and bought her a pretty strong drink she wouldn’t have ordered for herself, but as she questioningly looked at him, he simply said: “Believe me, it helps.” So she nodded and tried to not cough because of the heavy alcoholic taste as their drinks arrived and she took a sip.  
“So tell me, whats your name?” he asked, leaning closer.  
“Valerie… and with whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?” Of course, she already knew it, but she had to play a role.  
He smiled and licked his lips and if she wouldn’t have been so confused because of a certain turian, she would have called him handsome. “Michael, my friends call me Mike.”  
“Nice to meet you, Michael.”  
“It’s Mike for you.” He smoothly stroke her arm with his fingers and it gave her goosebumps.  
Valerie tried to ignore the creeps that crawled over the skin where he touched her. She knew he would be that at the end of this night so it felt like cuddling with a corpse. “So we are friends, I guess?”  
He laughed and moved a little closer. “Well, I think we are on the best way to be more than that.”  
She had to admit that he was a pretty good flirt and knew what he was doing. Even if she wasn’t really interested in him, her knees began to weaken as he glanced at her with desire. Especially the low-cut dressed seemed to catch his interest.  
“Then tell me something about yourself, Mike.” She rolled the name on her tongue. “Usually, friends know more than just a name.”  
“All you need to know is that I am very rich, very lonely and ready to gift you the most erotically night you could imagine.”  
Oh, holy fuck. He lowered his head, placed his head in her face and slowly kissed her neck while grabbing her waist with the other hand.  
She started sweating and went red. Why was she so aroused? Was it because of the drink? The adrenaline of her fight with Lantar? The feeling promptly stopped when she thought of the one thing she shouldn’t. She mourned in frustration but of course, Mike thought it was him, making her tingle.  
“When was the last time, Valerie?” he asked, his head still buried in her hair.  
“W-What?”  
“The last time someone made you feel like a woman.”  
Okay, this was ridiculous. While trying not to giggle, she whispered: “Never. I think I never had a man who did it right.” Which technically wasn’t wrong since her only encounter with the other sex ended with tears, a broken nose and an assault beef. Or maybe, she was just prude.  
“Oh, I can do it right.” He downed his glass and asked her to do the same. She clenched her teeth and chugged her drink as well. “Let’s go to my room.” He said and she cheered inside. This job was easy. She felt like a total vamp.  
With one arm around her waist and a grin on his face he walked her to the hallway and pressed her against a wall. Before she could resist, he grabbed her head and covered her body with his, pressing her against a wall. “Kiss me, Valerie. I will make you forget that turian bastard.”  
He didn’t wait for a response, he pressed his lips on hers and softly licked her lips until she opened them with a mourn. He explored every inch of her mouth with his tongue while his hands wandered around on her body. He was a good kisser, but she didn’t feel anything at all instead of the alcohol that made her dizzy.  
She pushed him away and whispered: “Let’s go to your room.”  
Immediately he grabbed her hand and rushed to a small door with the number six on it. He opened it and dragged her into the room still kissing, bodies entwined. Thankfully the door closed on his own so he could concentrate on her, while she tried to bring some distance between them.  
Oh my god. She looked into his eyes with despair. They would kill him. She panicked and tried to grab his vest and tell him, he had to leave, but all she could do was stumble upon him and mumbling. Her head felt strange, everything spun around her and she couldn’t do anything else than to fall on the ground. She couldn’t move while he simply stepped over her body to the bed and arranged the pillows. He grinned as she tried to crawl to the door.  
“Oh, sweet Valerie. Has nobody told you not to accept drinks from strangers?” he asked and picked her up from the ground than threw her on the bed.  
He grabbed her dress and ripped it apart and she started crying while she laid there, not able to move.  
In the moment he touched her breast, the door was kicked in and Juan and two other Blue Suns came in, heavily armed.  
The last thing she saw was Juan who punched her shocked torturer and as he fell to the ground, all three of them riddled him with bullets.  
Then everything went black.


End file.
